Enthusiasm...

Don't you wish you could bottle up enthusiasm?  Enthusiasm is really cool.  The ability to get moving and do the things we have on our plate for the day.  Of course, for most of us, there are days when we just sit around watching TV, or staring at the computer, without the slightest motivation to get up and do anything.  Once in a while those can be good days.  However, if they drag on day after day, they can be devastating in our lives.  Because in the real world, most of us have responsibilities.  And those responsibilities don't get put on hold because we don't feel like doing anything.  As a result, our choices can be to veg out on the couch eating Doritos, or unenthusiastically getting up and doing what we need to do.

But what if we could muster up the enthusiasm we need to accomplish our goals whenever we wanted?  What if we could harness that energy and get excited about the things we need to do in our lives?  Things like looking for a job, doing our laundry, or whatever else we have as goals.  Wouldn't that be something?  If we could all of a sudden take care of our responsibilities while at the same time feeling good about them?  What would that world look like?  Imagine working to get the job you want, having the energy to have the clean house you always hoped to live in, and the energy to do all those things you've been "getting around to doing..."  Wouldn't that be great?

Well guess what?  It's not only possible, it's something all of us can do.  We can all work towards our goals -- not begrudgingly -- but excitedly.  Instead of looking at the things we need to do as unhappy chores, what if we could instead look at them as opportunities?  Opportunities to have the lives we want to lead instead of the lives that we're stuck with.  Sound good?  All of this is possible when we don't let our lethargy stop us from accomplishing what we want to do.  That victimizes us.  "I don't feel like it" is a phrase that has stopped millions of people from move forward in their lives. 

What if instead, the next time we don't "feel like it," we do it anyway?   That way we would not let our emotions of the moment stop us from doing what we mentally know we need to accomplish.  Our emotions can be very powerful, but they're not always helping us achieve our goals.  And when they stop us from accomplishing our commitments, they can mean the difference between a happy, fulfilling life, and one that we have much less control over.